The natural and organic food and beverage market is reshaping the way America shops. With products available in every retail outlet, increasingly health-savvy consumers can now easily purchase natural alternatives to processed foods and other mainstream offerings. In the second edition of its report, Natural and Organic Food and Beverage Trends in the U.S., Packaged Facts investigates the trends and demographics fueling this multi-billion dollar industry.
The natural and organic market continues to gain strength in food, drug, and mass outlets riding on the coat tails of the success of stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, which brought natural and organic foods and beverages to mainstream America. Consumers have become a whole lot savvier about what they eat and through increased educational efforts by both manufacturers and retailers they are increasingly buying more organic and natural food and beverage products. Packaged Facts estimates that 2008 sales of natural and organic food and beverages will continue at a double-digit growth rate to reach $32.9 billion. For the period between 2005 to 2008, Packaged Facts estimates a remarkable market growth of 67.6 percent with a compounded annual growth rate of 18.8 percent.
Not even the current economic upheaval due to the rising prices of fuel and grain is enough to impede the market's steady development, which Packaged Facts projects will experience strong single-digit growth through 2013.
"While natural and organic products are no longer recession proof, Americans are waking up to expect natural and organic food in their stores; food that is pesticide-free, hormone-free, and non-GMO. And suppliers and retailers are quickly acting to provide it to them. We believe this consumer demand will continue to spur the strong growth for these products," says Tatjana Meerman, Publisher of Packaged Facts.
